Horse riders call for safer roads this summer

As the summer holiday period approaches more drivers will be taking to New Zealand's roads, particularly the scenic, and rural roads often used by horse riders, and pedestrians. NZ Horse Network urges all motorists to slow down, and learn how to drive safely around horses. They also want all horse riders, their friends, and families to sign a petition to Transport Minister Simon Bridges asking for improved road safety for horse riders.

“Horses, cycles, and pedestrians are all entitled to use the road system, alongside vehicles.” says Vivien Dostine from the national recreational horse riders group, NZ Horse Network. "New Zealand road safety laws are well behind others when it comes to horse riders, even those of our closest neighbour, Australia. We don't even have a clear legal right to use the rural verges, and the National Road Safety Strategy "Safer Roads" doesn't so much as mention the word 'horse'. That is utterly outrageous, and an indictment on the lack of inclusiveness of this current government." says Viv.

A recent horrific vehicle crash severely injured journalist Karen Rutherford, and killed her much loved horse, George. The petition calling for the government to adopt a number of simple measures to improve road safety for horse riders has been created in the wake of the Rutherford crash. It currently has around 4,000 signatures, and NZ Horse Network has the support of Ms Rutherford, who is still struggling to recover from her extensive injuries.

While many drivers may think that horse riding is something they may only come across on lonely, rural roads, the Rutherford crash occured in Dairy Flat, just north of urban Auckland. There are large populations of equestrians on the fringes of most cities, and towns, because the vast majority of riders are not farmers, they are working people who need to be close to their employment. Approximately 3% of the population regularly ride, and up to 5% of the population rides at least once per year. Additionally, cities are spilling out into the rural fringes, but new residents in these rural fringes are failing to change their driving style to suit roads that have high speed limits, but no safe paths for horse riders, or pedestrians.

Collisions between a horse and vehicle are thankfully rare here, but when they do occur they usually result in serious injuries to the people involved, and inevitably the horse dies. While drivers may be charged with careless or dangerous driving, there is no specific charge for killing a horse in a road crash. This fails to recognise that if the horse did not take the impact, the driver would have killed a person, and may have been liable for more serious charges.

New Zealand's aggressive driving culture shows little sign of changing any time soon, so the horse riders want simple practical changes to current laws and policies, such as being given the legal guarantee of safe passage along rural verges, where they exist. This will allow horse riders to get off the main road surface, and also provide clear direction to Councils that they must ensure that public road verges are both unobstructed, and for the safe passage of pedestrians and others.

Updating the road laws, and road safety strategies before we start seeing an increase in deaths, and injuries is the goal. "Far too often authorities wait till people are being killed in high numbers before taking the most simple of steps to improve things." says, NZ Horse Network's Ms Dostine. NZ Horse Network receives anecdotal evidence of incidents, even riders being clipped by buses, or vehicle mirrors, whenever they raise road safety with riders. The petition comments are full of riders who are now too scared to ride the roads, or have horror stories of their own. However, the road safety data won't show that. “Its very difficult to get details of a vehicle when you're busy dealing with a frightened horse, and many riders believe the police simply don't care and treat us as if we have no legal right to be on the road.” says Ms Dostine, "So most incidents go unreported". But she believes that we may be heading in the same direction as the UK where horse rider injury and deaths are sadly more common.

NZ Horse Network encourages all riders to know the road rules for themselves, wear hi-viz, take a mobile phone with them, and use a helmet cam for all road rides to collect evidence.. The police *555 service can be used for all driving complaints if the rider is in a safe position to call, and the vehicle registration is known.

The road safety petition, along with helpful information for all road users who encounter horse riders, can be found on the “Horse Sense on the Roads” website roadsafety.nzhorseriders.info and the petition can also be found on Change.Org https://www.change.org/p/simon-bridges-mp-road-safety-must-include-horse-riders-include-horse-riders-in-safer-journeys

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